TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Clint Bowyer — Notes & Quotes
New Hampshire Motor Speedway – September 21, 2012
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY, Michael Waltrip Racing Is New Hampshire one of your stronger tracks — with two wins at the track? “Yeah, and a run -out-of-gas — two wins and a run-out-of-gas. This just fits my driving style. I love this place — always have since the first time I was on the track I felt comfortable and always been able to find pretty good speed here. Guys have been working hard. We were close last time, but it was a little bit off, so kind of got a little bit different setup in it. Hoping that it will show some promise here and give us something to work with.”
Do you ever think about the penalty after your 2010 win? “Not really. That still sucks that — it’s just a bad deal, but a new group, a new organization, new sponsor, new everything — so a new opportunity to get things done here in the Chase. Really need this race track to catapult ourselves in the running for this. This is a good track for me and one that we’ve proven we can win at. Finished second last time around — hopefully, we can improve that by one and get a win.”
Do ‘issues’ like that have an impact? “It was just one of those things. You watch sports and you see fouls and you see players and teams get called on a foul and then sometimes you see a foul and it’s kind of a questionable call and unfortunately it just got called on them. It is what it is. I don’t even think back on that. I think back on last week in Chicago and that was a missed opportunity. We should have had four or five more points there and unfortunately didn’t capitalize and it cost us a little bit. That’s what I think. You reminded me of 2010 — thank you, I really appreciate that.”
Is this an important race in the Chase? “Well, you definitely need to capitalize on your good race tracks and I think this is one of my good race tracks, so it’s very important to capitalize on that and get myself closer to the front. Certainly, I think we’re tied for fourth or whatever it is, but this is a track where we can gain some ground and we need to make sure we do that.”
Was it emotional helping Michael Waltrip Racing qualify for the Chase? “The emotions are getting into the Chase for MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing). Having two teams in the Chase is just complete excitement. Very proud for everybody’s hard work and determination and getting things turned around and putting themselves in the Chase for the first time. Proud to be a part of that. It’s a lot of fun. We have a shot at winning the championship. I look up behind you guys and I’m not too far from the front. I’m closer to the front than I am the back of this deal, so we need a good run here and we can continue to be a part of this.”
Is there more pressure at tracks where you’ve had success? “I think so — there’s a little bit more pressure. There’s a reason there’s some pressure — it’s because we have performed here and we need to do it again. I feel like we can back that up and I’m fairly confident in that. This is just one of those tracks where you just kind of go in and usually things work out, you know? You don’t take that for granted. I did run out of gas leading here one time and I think I finished like 25th, so that wasn’t much fun.”
What do you think of Denny Hamlin’s Twitter guarantee of a New Hampshire win? “I guess he enjoys pressure, because that certainly places a lot of pressure on you. I don’t know. Who knows? I’m going to call his bluff.”
Do you enjoy racing at Dover? “Another good track for me — we usually run well there. We struggled to get the finish. Dover is certainly a track where we feel like this team is capable of getting a really solid run and contending for a win, so these are two (New Hampshire and Dover) really good tracks for me and you’ve got to pay attention to that.
Do you have any advantage at Talladega? “I think it’s still a crapshoot, but it’s just one of those places where I’ve been able to get myself in position and get a couple wins there, so certainly a third fall race would be huge in this Chase.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY, Michael Waltrip Racing (continued)
How are things working with your new spotter (Brett Griffin)? “My old spotter (Ty Norris, MWR GM) just hired a new one. I’ve been friends with Brett (Griffin) a long time. I really enjoy him. He’s a good friend of mine. And, you need that. You need that relationship and trust in one another. Everybody was like, ‘Why did you do it right now?’ I talked to Ty (Norris) and we need to work on it for next year. I worked with Brett before — at the Talladegas when we were tandem racing, so I got a lot of confidence in him and I knew going into Richmond it wasn’t going to be anything but an asset. He proved that right. It was a good thing. I think he’s just going to continue to help our program even more.”
